Aunt Nette's Big Adventure

Time is flying by so quickly this summer! Case in point:  It has already been almost two weeks since I left on my big adventure to go visit my sister, brother-in-law and nieces! How can it be that I'm already home?!

I'm not going to disclose the location here, but it took me three flights and several time zones to get to where they are living. The trip started off with a big delay due to a mechanical problem on the landing gear or front tire of the plane that was to take me from Nashville to Newark. I definitely am thankful that they discovered that there was a problem before we needed to use said landing gear and tire, but the delay caused quite a bit of drama for the rest of my trip over.

But God sent people to help and by the time I landed in Paris on Sunday morning (local time), things had mostly gotten resolved and I was able to get to my final destination without an overnight layover in Paris. And then I had only one more flight and the reunion at the end was so sweet!

Once I got there and we got to the apartment, it was about time for bed, which was fine with me! I bunked in the room with the girls and it was one of my favorite parts of the trip. Every morning, I got to snuggle with them before we got up and started the day's activities. I even got to have the first birthday kiss from a new six-year-old! Priceless!

This was taken after we got up on her special day!

I brought two very full suitcases of things that my family needed/requested. It was fun to see their faces when they received different items. One girl was especially happy to be reunited with her Pillow Pet!

Another favorite activity was a special Aunt/Niece date to an arcade to do a little early celebrating for the soon-to-be-eight-year-old. I wasn't feeling 100%, but it was fun to watch her play and we got to take some fun photo booth pics together. Also priceless!

A big part of the joy of the trip was just getting to spend time together and for me to experience a small taste of life in their city. They took me to see the girls' school and the language school and I experienced shopping and walking and sweating!

One day we went to the beach and while it was different from beaches where we've gone together before, it was so much fun to play in the water and look for pebbles along the shore. And the views!

Thankfully, my trip home was a 180-degree difference and held very little drama. I had to wait in a long line to check in at the first airport, but after that, things went very smoothly and I arrived back in Nashville at the same gate where I had departed a week earlier.

This Dear Lady Turned 80!

This year was a big birthday for my mom as she turned 80! Always the planner I am, so of course I came up with some ideas of how we could celebrate. One idea was to invite some friends to join us on the Blue Heron Cruise on the Cumberland River and go to dinner afterwards at The Riverview Restaurant in Ashland City. And that's what we did!

But first, Mom's actual birthday, June 2, I brought in some dinner for us from Panera, and we ate and spent the evening together at her apartment. She'd already been treated to lunch the day before and to a luncheon in her honor with some friends, so she celebrated all week long!

Some of the birthday cards she had received during the week.

Then on Sunday, June 5, a group of twelve of us met up in Ashland City to go on the Blue Heron Cruise. This was my fourth time to go and I think that many for Mom as well (though not all of our cruises have been together). Captain Jim runs a fun boat and he was very accomodating to our group. Even though we didn't rent out the whole boat, we ended up being the only guests, so it was like we were on a private cruise! Captain Jim took us up the river to a marina and off into a little tributary to see some nature up close. It is always a relaxing ride and it was very fun to be together to celebrate Mom's birthday!

Celebrating Cindy!

One of my most cherished gifts in life are the friendships that I have. Some friends have been in my life for decades and others for a shorter time, but all of them are so valuable and needed!

And one of my favorite things to do is to celebrate my friends' birthdays! I got to do that with Cindy and helped as she moved into a new decade! Robin had the idea for us to spend Sunday afternoon exploring the antique shops and galleries in Leiper's Fork, a little wide place in the road down in Williamson County. We ended our outing with dinner at Puckett's Boat House in Franklin. We had a very fun day together!!

I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking, but will say that time with Robin and Cindy is always an encouragement to me and I am thankful that God has allowed us to walk through life together!

We always have to get a selfie!

Our favorite gallery!

Some live music out on the back porch of one of the shops.

The Three Amigos

Cindy enjoyed her coconut shrimp with special sauce!

Flashback Friday: One Year Ago Today

Twelve months have passed since this little group, plus some other friends and family, prayed and hugged and said, "See you later!"

And God has been so faithful and kind to us to help us to stay in close touch via different methods. The Lord has kept our family safe on the other side of the ocean and has given them many examples of his love and care for them.

That day was not the saddest day ever and neither is today. May 27 is just a day we remember in our family and can see God's faithfulness to all generations.

Ordinary day, extraordinary God

It's a gray day in Nashville and my mood is kind of gray as well. On my way to work, I was praying/thinking about my day ahead and my mood and asked God to change my heart and to make me glad and joyful. I asked God to let me see his work today.

It is an ordinary day at the office. Tasks to get done, people passing by my desk, phone calls coming in. But God is doing extraordinary things and he allowed me to see some of it today.

Some lights were needing to be repaired in a couple of offices and the electricians came to fix them. As one of the guys was passing by my desk on his way out to pick up a part, I commented about a small stack of worship CDs he had in his hand.

"Are you going to listen to some music?" I asked.
"Yes," he said, "and I'm going to India on a mission trip and I'm going to take some to the pastors there."

Skreech. Ordinary turned to extraordinary as we listened to the electrician tell about how he and his wife had been saving money for a new house, but felt called to use that money and to use all of his vacation time to travel to India to do whatever was needed in the region where they have some contacts.

"I'm not a preacher," the electrician said. "In fact, as of Monday, that guy out there (pointing to his coworker out by the truck) is now a follower (of Christ), but I'm don't do that kind of thing all of the time.

This guy and his wife just want to go and serve alongside pastors and believers in India. They know that they might face opposition and that their travel could put them in danger. But they are choosing to trust our extraordinary God and go where he sends them.

"I guess I'm kind of like Barnabas," he said. "I just want to go where God sends me."

After he left to go pick up the part he needed, I told my coworkers that I had needed to hear that today. I'm so thankful that God answered my prayer and had mercy on my grumbling, complaining, downcast-for-no-good-reason soul!

The Strawberry Patch

 My friend Debbie and I like to go on little adventures together. Last year we drove out to Hartsville, TN, to the Starlite Farm for The Strawberry Patch sale. As the founder of the sale says, this makers mart "is a marketplace filled to the brim with artsy goods such as handmade soaps, pottery, antiques, painted furniture, custom lighting and eclectic vintage finds."

This year's Spring sale was last weekend and it turned out to be a beautiful day for a drive to the country. We love walking around to see all of the creative things that people are selling, plus the fun setting and vignettes that the founder sets up to make the atmosphere inviting and inspiring. And there's also food.

I think this is becoming one of our traditions that we'll keep going back to year after year!

Friday Favorites: Daughterhood/Motherhood

I realize that I'm almost a week too late for this post, but I didn't want to overlook two of my favorite roles in life: being a mother and being a daughter.

Last Sunday, Mother's Day, I got to spend the afternoon with my mother, having lunch and getting pedicures and then hanging out on my deck. I am continually thankful that God allowed Nancy Ryals to be my mother and that I was chosen by Him to be her daughter. I don't ever want to take for granted how special it is that we get to live in the same town and have for 16 years of my adult life.

I am equally thankful daily that I get to be Mom to Daniel. He needed to stay in Knoxville for a few more days, so didn't make it home for Mother's Day this year, but I got a text and enjoyed his Facebook/Instagram posts commemorating the day.

And when he did get home this week, he came bearing gifts:  Starbuck's card and he had gotten a hair cut (his idea). I also got to spend the evening hearing him play the piano and hearing about what he's been up to at college. It's definitely different in this stage of our mother-son relationship, having him be away and gaining independence, but I'm still so grateful that we can stay in touch and are never more than a text or phone call or Facetime away!